WIRED Awake: 10 must-read articles for 4 March

Your WIRED.co.uk daily briefing. Today, Google, Facebook and Microsoft have filed formal legal papers in support of Apple against the FBI in the San Bernadino encryption case, the Hubble Space Telescope has detected the most distant galaxy ever seen, Greenland's snowy surface is getting darker, putting it at risk of increased ice melt, and more.

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Tech giants Google, Facebook and Microsoft are among a group of companies that have filed an amicus brief in the ongoing legal battle between Apple and the FBI over iPhone encryption (TechCrunch). The purpose of the brief is to state that the companies have aligned interests and wish to participate in a forthcoming appeals process. In a statement, they say that "the government is seeking to enlist the judiciary in re-writing laws without engaging in an essential public debate" and that "amici often compete vigorously with Apple -- and with each other. But amici here speak with one voice because of the singular importance of this case to them and their customers who trust amici to safeguard their data and most sensitive communications from attackers." The brief comes just hours after a similar filing from companies including Reddit and Twitter.

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US researchers working with data from the Hubble Space Telescope have identified the most distant galaxy yet observed (BBC). Catalogued as GN-z11, the galaxy is 13.4 billion light years away: that means that we're observing it as it appeared just 400 million years after the Big Bang. GN-z11 is a small but fast-growing galaxy about one-25th the size of the Milky Way, with only 1 percent as many stars. Lead author Dr Pascal Oesch of Yale University said that "the surprising thing is how bright it is (for what it represents), and it's growing really fast, producing stars at a much faster rate. So, it's challenging some of our models, but it's showing galaxy build-up was well under way early on in the Universe."

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New analysis of satellite data has found that Greenland's snow-covered surface has been getting darker over the past twenty years, causing it to absorb more of the sun's heat and increasing snow melt (Phys.org). The main cause of this is found in the snow itself: warmer summers melted away the top layers of snow, causing trapped impurities such as dust and soot to come to the surface, while the process of melting and refreezing produces larger, less reflective grains of snow. Lead author Marco Tedesco said that "it's a complex system of interaction between the atmosphere and the ice sheet surface. Rising temperatures are promoting more melting, and that melting is reducing albedo, which in turn is increasing melting. How this accumulates over decades is going to be important, because it can accelerate the amount of water Greenland loses."

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ByStephen Armstrong

It's recently come to popular attention that, late last year, Amazon removed support for device encryption from the latest version of Fire OS, the company's customised version of Android (WIRED). Amazon spokesperson Robin Handaly described encryption as one of several "enterprise features that we found customers weren’t using," but users and security experts have criticised the move. Nathan White of digital rights organisation Access Now told WIRED that "Amazon’s decision is backward -- it not only moves away from default device encryption, where other manufacturers are headed, but removes all choice by the end user to decide to encrypt it after purchase.”

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The San Bernadino District Attorney has told a district judge that Apple must help authorities unlock a mass shooter's work iPhone, issued to him by the local health department that employed him, because it may be have been used to "introduce a lying dormant cyber pathogen that endangers San Bernardino's infrastructure" (Ars Technica). Experts have pointed out that this is highly improbable. iPhone forensics specialist Jonathan Zdziarski told Ars Technica that "it sounds like he’s making up these terms as he goes" and that "the world has never seen what he is describing coming from an iPhone. I would expect, I would demand, in order to make that statement at all, he should make some kind of proof."

Nasa has only just begun examining astronaut Scott Kelly for changes in his health following 340 days spent on the ISS, but he's come away from the experience 2 inches taller (The Verge). Without the effect of gravity pulling it down, the human spine can stretch out by up to three inches (7.5cm) in a microgravity environment. It's been calculated that Kelly's also now 8.6 milliseconds younger than he would have been on Earth, due to a minor time dilation effect resulting from the International Space Station's 27,600kph orbital speed. However, Nasa is more interested in what effect a prolonged period in space has had on Kelly's immune system and bone and muscle density.

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A remote control research submarine dispatched by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration vessel Okeanos Explorer has discovered what appears to be a brand new species of octopus on the seafloor near Necker Island in Hawaii (PopSci). As well as a new species, the cute, vaguely ghostly-looking octopod may also represent an entirely new genus.

Nintendo has finally released a batch of SNES games for its 3DS Virtual Console, including Super Mario World, F-Zero and Pilotwings (Engadget). However, only the latest 'New' version of the 3DS, released at the end of 2014 with an upgraded processor, will be able to handle games created for the classic 16-bit platform. The news could prompt some users to upgrade to the latest version of the console, with future releases to include fan favourites Earthbound, Super Mario Cart, Super Metroid and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

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ByJulia Shaw

Disney has confirmed that Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be released in the UK for digital download on 11 April, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on 18 April (Den of Geek). That's about ten days later than US viewers will be getting the film, and confirms recent release date rumours. The Blu-Ray release will come packed with extra documentaries and deleted scenes.

Cycloid drawing machines are the more advanced predecessors of the humble spirograph: elaborate constructions of gears and sliders that, when turned, produce intricate regular patterns on a sheet of paper (Sploid). While owning the real thing is an expensive proposition, there's now a browser-based version that will construct a near-infinite variety of mesmerising images before your very eyes.

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BitPesa is putting ancient payment systems on the blockchain

BySanjana Varghese

Beyond showcases of beautiful worlds filled with alien fauna and treks through the stars in fanciful ships, it's been hard to get a handle for what No Man's Sky actually is. Elite-style space sim? A galactic-scale survival game? Is it about mining and resource gathering? Sci-fi diplomacy? Yes. All of the above. The answer to the question "what is No Man's Sky?" is, in effect, "whatever you make of it" -- so long as you're exploring while you do it.

We explore the future of food from the end of meat to closed loop cocktails, edible packaging and egg-free omelettes. Plus we go inside Noma, one of the world's best restaurants, which is leading the way in fermenting and foraging. Out now in print, iPad and iPhone. Subscribe now and save.

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